One week later at the store...
Mum: $450, no way
This one is lovely [pointing to something pink and dainty]
DD2: Silent [rolling her eyes]. I really like this one.
Mum: No way, I can't buy a dress that has raw edges and is see through! I'll make a dress. It is so simple, I can easily copy it.
DD2: Why can't I have a new dress.
Mum: But the dress I make will be new

Three days later at the fabric store...
DD2: Don't expect me to be enthusiastic about anything you show me.
Mum: [private thoughts] Spoiled brat, where did you get this sense of entitlement.

A few days later...
DD2: You're going to Melbourne...on business...for three days...but what about my dress?
Mum: [private thoughts] I'm an idiot, why didn't I give in to her.

Two nights to go...
DD2: Are you ever going to finish my dress
Mum: Of course I will, have I ever let you down [private thoughts] maybe I'll have to do an all nighter.

The night of the party...
DD2's friend: I lOVE your dress. Where did you get it?
DD2: My Mum made it.
friend: Your Mum is amazing!

Amazing?..I'm not so sure, but certainly capable of a little white magic! DD's dress is a copy of a dress by Australian designers Maurie and Eve that was selling for $250. While pretty, the original had poorly finished seams and was completely unlined - requiring a slip or the audacity to go out looking like a hooker. This version is in white crinkle chiffon, lined with white silk. It isn't perfect, in my near midnight delirium I made the skirt a little tighter than I wanted and it rides up. But it made my DD2 happy and that is what being a mother is all about.

About Me

I learned to sew basic clothing at high school. When my children were young I sewed all their clothes and a few of my own. Then suddenly I got lazy. Now I'm done with paying outrageous prices for designer clothing for myself and my two daughters.